Follow (2023) Ep 1 and 2

Follow is a mystery/thriller set in Paris and its social networks. I started watching it when it was on France.tv in 2024, but stopped because of the myriad smartphone popups. Now that I have a little time before the start of HPI Season 5-B, I’m going to subtitle these popups. I have machine-translated subtitles for everything else, I’m going to just clean those up instead of doing a full translation from scratch.

Marie Colomb

Follow Episode 1, runtime 41:05
Subtitles download link

Léna Martinet (Marie Colomb, OVNI(s) / UFOs) is a social media intern at the Police Prefecture in Paris– we see her beginning her day checking her dating app matches, shopping at an online vintage store, looking at Life (this reality’s version of Facebook), and fending off Bastien her stalker ex. At the office, her persnickety coworkers seem more interested in lunch than work.

Over in the Judicial Police section of the building, somber Cmsr Agathe Ruffin’s group has a hot potato of a case: a pair of murders with the same MO which threatens to turn serial. In researching the victims, detective Samir (Vincent Heneine) discovers the killer has his victims’ phones, and is re-upping old photos on their Life accounts.

Léna finds this pattern in the account of an influencer no one has yet reported missing. She alerts the squad, which finds the victim still alive. Determined to get ahead of the killer, Ruffin brings Léna into her group.


NOTES

Léna’s coworkers (3’26”): Ludo is Arthur Mazet from the “Agnes & Thibaut” rotation (the best one) on Crimes Parfaits. As a baby he was in City of Lost Children (1995). Martin is Jean-Michel Lahmi, who was hilarious as Major Lenormand in HPI S02E03.

Commissioner Ruffin (4’34”) is Marilyne Canto, who was Commissioner Dorval on Alex Hugo. I really should find an Alex Hugo episode to work on, the show’s origins are interesting.

Nicium (5’05”) appears to be a made-up drug.

Terrasse, ‘terrace’ (20’57”), is slang for a hangout for friends– cafe, bar, patio, etc.

Rue Ordener (23’17”) is in Montmartre and runs past the 18th arrondissement town hall.

29’22”: Rue de Vaugirard is in Montparnasse; Rue des Pyrénées runs along the eastern edge of Pere-Lachaise cemetery. Rue de la Cité is where the real Prefecture is located, it’s on Ile de la Cité, near Notre-Dame (however, the real Prefecture building is 4-6 storeys).

Bagneux cemetery (36’55”) is in Montparnasse.


Follow Episode 2, runtime 39:46
Subtitles download link

Ruffin’s raiders came up empty at the Catacombs, afterward it's discovered the killer has already struck, right next to the Prefecture itself. So the shit has hit the fan— Ruffin had better get results, or the Prefect will give the case to another team. Léna is sent back to Comms— and then the killer makes contact with Léna to tell her she deserves better than Bastien.


NOTES

Lexik (7’52”) appears to be a made-up online word game.

Police Municipale (9’32”) is the local police (traffic, public order, etc), below the PJ in the pecking order. Police Rurale (e.g. Alex Hugo) must be a notch below that.

26’21”: This is closer to the real appearance of the Prefecture building.